Sample Box - Creative Multi Sampler for Ableton Live

Sample Box is inspired from Native Instruments "Playbox", where you can create sample layers and play them as (MIDI) chords. A great device, but unfortunately it's not very beginner friendly and the file import system is quite awkward in my opinion.

Sample Box is a workhorse and offers a wide range of creative possibilities. It's a compact sample player instrument, layer tool, drum rack and slicer, all in one. It also feels a little like playing Live's scene clips in session view.

Sample Box allows you to see all parameters at a glance, without annoying tabs or clicking actions. It allows you to quickly load and replace files or folders within seconds. With the including Device "MIDI Quantize" you can quantize your MIDI input, which can be very handy for recording percussive stuff and live performance. (The credit goes to nonagon's "Real-time MIDI Quantize". Thank you for this great free device! I just optimized the GUI a bit.)

Because all audio files and parameters are visible at a glance, it is much easier to adjust individual parameters in context without losing sight of the whole picture. It feels more compact.

THE DEVICE WORKS AS FOLLOWS:

You have 5 MIDI notes (by default C2-G2), that can be easily played with one hand. Each MIDI note triggers a layer of up to 4 audio files (playlists).

You can adjust start and loop points, volume, pan, speed, pitch, formant, warp mode, quality and tempo for each layer individually.

The device is great for sound design and resampling. Just drop some sample folders and hit "randomize" to get new sample combinations and new inspiration. You can create long evolving, organic textures, lush drum hits or even complex chord progressions.

You can use it as regular MIDI Drum Rack to create beats or even whole tracks. As always all important parameters are mappable.

MAIN FEATURES:

• Trigger up to 5 layers with up to 4 samples / playlists
• Swap and randomize samples or folders within seconds
• Theoretically you can save and load 20 folders per preset slot
• Polyphonic, monophonic, classic and one-shot mode
• Inclusive Live MIDI Quantizer with shuffle function
• A simple and neatly GUI for a fast creative workflow
• An appealing and uncluttered exterior with skin presets
• Load and save your own pictures as device background

CREATIVE TIPS:

• If you want to change the default MIDI range C2-G2 for another instrument, just transpose it with Live's MIDI "Pitch" device: Pitching -12 st means: C3-G3, Pitching +12 st means: C1-G1 and so on... In this way you can use more than one Sample Box at the same time.
• You can copy samples from one playlist to another. This is useful for creating different pitch variations or layer chords. Click on the left-hand side of the dotted area, hold down the left mouse button and drag the file into another playlist.
• You can extreme stretch / compress audio files in both directions: Set 999 for "Original Tempo" and 0.01 for "Speed" for extreme low-speed playback. Set 1 for "Original Tempo" and 2 for "Speed" for extreme fast-speed playback.
• If you want to route all layers to different MIDI tracks to apply different effects, you can use the free device "Keyboard Split" by dasfaker.

Happy layering!

Sample Box Version: 1.0 tested on Windows 10

Tested Max Version: 8.3.1 / 8.5.6 / 8.6.4

Tested Ableton Live Version: 11.2.0 / 12.0.0 / 12.0.5